Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent

Annual Report

2014/15

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Contents

Contents ...... 3 Note from the Chair ...... 4 Note from Chief Officer ...... 5 About Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent ...... 6 Our Statement of Intent ...... 6 Engaging with people who use health and social care services ...... 10 Understanding people’s experiences ...... 10 Enter & View ...... 14 Providing information and signposting for people who use health and social care services ...... 16 Helping people get what they need from local health and social care services ...... 16 Influencing decision makers with evidence from local people ...... 18 Producing reports and recommendations to effect change ...... 18 Putting local people at the heart of improving services ...... 19 Working with others to improve local services ...... 22 Impact Stories ...... 24 Case Study One ...... 24 Case Study Two...... 26 Our plans for 2015/16 ...... 29 Our strategic priorities ...... 29 Our governance and decision-making ...... 30 Our Board ...... 30 Financial information ...... 33 Contact us ...... 34 Get in touch ...... 34

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unprecedented level in the hospital during Note from the January. It is no comfort to know that we are not alone in under performing on A&E Chair targets, but perhaps in some perverse way, the scale of the problem focused minds more on collaborative working towards a solution. Once again Healthwatch has been a constant in these It is with a genuine meetings and the A&E Survey we sense of pride that I conducted jointly with Healthwatch write this intro- has informed the thinking on duction to our solutions. second Annual As chair I have been very pleased to see Report of Healthwatch Stoke-on- our involvement across the broadest range Trent. We have spent this year of activity from focused A&E surveys, GP consolidating our position and Access Surveys, Mental Health Access, relationships across the City. We Discharge Pathways, Parkinsons work, have also worked hard to grow our through to the engagement with Public membership and awareness with the Health running their Big Alcohol Debate public and other stakeholders. and very specific input to the series of Health Literacy workshops in the City. We have been extremely active in embedding ourselves as an independent I am also able to report that Healthwatch organisation able to fulfil the statutory has a presence and makes a significant functions we have been commissioned to contribution, at most strategic tables in deliver. Our health economy locally has the city now and I observe a level of faced some significant challenges during respect for the views expressed by the year. Identified as one of 11 Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent because we Distressed Health Economies across are so well grounded in public opinion. England, the leaders of health and care As a member of the Health and Wellbeing services across Stoke and Staffordshire Board, we undertook to lead on the have had to step up to the table to development of a Dignity and Respect address the challenges presented. Charter for the citizen and we are very Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent was invited pleased that this has been adopted by the to be a member of the group which led Board and will be launched in June. the KPMG review of the local health All in all a good year and I would like to economy. Our manager Val Lewis took the thank all those who have been involved in role of representing patient voice at these supporting Healthwatch Stoke in the past meetings and reminding decision makers year, in particular our Management Board, that any proposals needed to put the staff and volunteers alike together with patient at the heart of the solution. other stakeholders and I look forward to The national spotlight on A&E waiting growing the organisation with the local times has often been on Royal Stoke community at the heart of all decisions. Hospital over the winter with 12 hour Every Blessing Lloyd Cooke, Chair, trolley breaches reaching an Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent

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The two local Healthwatch – Staffordshire Note from Chief and Stoke-on-Trent worked together to support UHNM to engage in public dialogue Officer over the plans. This proved to be very successful for all parties and we have since collaborated on a number of pieces Writing an Annual of work and will, I think, begin to work Report can be more closely together whilst maintaining daunting and yet, our independence to speak and represent writing this, I the people of Stoke-on-Trent. realise how much Healthwatch Stoke on-Trent has not been we have grown and content with only raising its profile how much impact successfully. We have also attended a we have had. It is Health Select Committee to give evidence all down to a great team of staff and on the Transforming Cancer and End of a wonderful band of volunteers, from Life Programme in Stoke and our Board members to our Staffordshire. Additionally our young magnificent frontline volunteers. people were quoted in a parliamentary debate by local MP Rob Flello who shared It’s a report we can be proud of in Stoke- some of their messages around the CAMH’s on-Trent, both as staff and as volunteers (Children and Adolescent Mental Health and its also one we can use to show how services) to support improvements in much difference we make simply by being these services. there. So thank you to everyone who has been involved with us and, as a reader, I We have a very small team of staff who hope you will enjoy reading this and have to be multi-disciplinary and able to seeing how much has been done. adapt and adopt to meet patient and volunteer needs. They have done this The winter of 2014/15 will be superbly and their support and enthusiasm remembered locally as the time when our for their work has been very much University Hospital of North Midlands appreciated by me. Accident and Emergency performance was in the national headlines for many days in However, we would be nothing without succession for all the wrong reasons. the patients, service users, carers and voluntary and community organisations The decision to bring Royal Stoke and and groups who provide the voice of those County Hospital together in the who use services. We know that by University Of North Midlands NHS Trust working with them, recording their views (UHNM) led to some public concern. In and sharing their messages we are able to Staffordshire these were about proposals influence commissioners and clinicians to to move services up to Stoke-on-Trent and make services patient centred. in Stoke-on-Trent concerns were aired about the capacity of the Stoke site to Here’s to another busy but fruitful year manage the increased volume of patients. Val Lewis, Manager

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About Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent

We are here to make health and Our Statement of Intent social care services better for ordinary people. We believe that the “Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent will best way to do this is by designing enable a strong voice and provide local services around their needs support to local people and and experiences. We also believe community and voluntary groups so that the design of those services that they can influence the way their should put the patient and service health and social care services are user at the centre of the process. planned, purchased and provided.”

Everything we say and do is informed by our connections to local people and our The Context expertise is grounded in their experience. We are the only body looking solely at Users and the public must be at the heart people’s experience across all health and of all health and social care service social care settings. delivery. To achieve this ambition, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 We are uniquely placed as a network, established a new consumer champion for with a local Healthwatch in every higher users of health and social care services, tier local authority area in England. called Healthwatch. Healthwatch exists As a statutory watchdog our role is to locally as Local Healthwatch and ensure that local health and social care nationally as Healthwatch England. services and the local decision makers, There is a Local Healthwatch in every put the experiences of people at the higher tier Local Authority in England – a heart of their care. We can hold total of 132 individual organisations and commissioners and service providers to these have developed in a variety of account and we often do, but we try to forms from full charitable organisations, make sure that this is done in a positive to CICs, private companies and, in the way that promotes co-operation and case of Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent a improves services. Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

Our Structure

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent has been set up as an independent organisation registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). It has twoTrustees, from VAST, a VCS infrastructure organisation & from

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Saltbox, a faith based charity. As the of Stoke-on-Trent and working creatively contracted organisation VAST employ the with them to deliver the most cost staff and provide office space and back effective solutions to achieve its chosen office services including financial priorities. management. Healthwatch Management The national vision for Local Healthwatch Board is responsible for setting the is that it will; priorities, work-plans and day-to-day functions of Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent,  Act as local consumer champion as designated in the service specification representing the collective voice of and Performance Management patients, service users, carers and the Framework, via a delegated remit from public the Trustees  Support individuals to access information and advice about services Local authorities were required to  Provide or signpost people to commission a Local Healthwatch independent advocacy if they need organisation from 1 April 2013 and in help to complain about NHS services Stoke-on-Trent a 3 year contract was  Have real influence with awarded, after a competitive tendering commissioners, providers, regulators process, by Stoke City Council to VAST, and Healthwatch England using their the voluntary sector infrastructure knowledge of what matters to local organisation and VAST have supported the people creation of the Local Healthwatch for the City. This report covers our second year. Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent was formed with a structure which supports the Provision and Intention national vision as described although it does not provide independent advocacy. Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent will be Enquiries are signposted to an clearly recognised as a strong, credible, appropriate advocacy provision. The influential and independent organisation organisation has a core staffing structure, that has at its heart the users of health guided by a Management Board of twelve and social care services. It will be members of the community and local representative of and accountable to, the organisations. The members of the Board local community, ensuring that the views have an interest in patient voice being of all local people are heard and central to influence and design and effectively used to help shape local commissioning of health and care services health and social care services. It will use and a clear understanding that this core evidence to underpin its priorities and service, through the small team of staff, target its efforts and will work in needs to be heavily underpinned by partnership with existing networks and volunteer activity on a number of services to achieve improved health and different levels which will be described social care outcomes and reduce health later. inequalities within the City of Stoke-on- The structure of the organisation is best Trent. described in the structure chart at Fig 1. Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent will provide The detail of our governance is described good value for money making the best use later in this report of its resources by seeking to avoid duplication with other bodies in the City

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Fig 1 Staffing and organisational structure

Volunteers

The volunteer functions are many and and route to influence and raise varied and continue to evolve as we gain concerns a better understanding of what we have  the opportunities to participate in to do and the demands that this places on influencing the shape and future our organisation. priorities of the health economy in Stoke-on-Trent The staff of Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent work very closely with all our volunteers and our work is informed by them and supported by them. The primary work could best be described as being around: The type of volunteers recruited and the roles they carry out are described in Fig 2  the capture of Voice of patients but it should be noted that these roles and service users, are ever evolving and new opportunities  the awareness raising of Local to participate as a volunteer in the work Healthwatch and what it provides of Healthwatch are always emerging. for the public in terms of a service

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Volunteers are central to our work and we are able to offer a range of roles which we believe support the needs of our diverse range of volunteers

Fig 2. Volunteer role descriptions

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Engaging with people who use health and social care services

Understanding people’s talk to their audience about Healthwatch experiences and hear what they have to say. To function effectively as a local We also work closely with our local Healthwatch it is important to gather the Patient Congress and share intelligence views of the local population. with them which is a two way process. Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent adopts a We are growing our links with Patient varied methodology for doing this. We Participation Groups (PPGs) in General recognise that we are a new organisation Practice across the city and this supports which is currently growing its volunteer patient voice in being channelled to us. base with a small staff team of 5 people There is still more work to be done to at its core. We cannot do everything widen this engagement with PPG’s and we ourselves. It has therefore been recognise that some are less well important to cement relationships with developed as yet. providers, staff and voluntary and Our work with the faith communities in community groups who already work the city is enhanced by having as our Chair closely with many of the people who most the CEO of Saltbox, a leading faith charity often access services. in the city. In his role as a faith leader he This enables us to ask them to ask their supports us in accessing a very diverse client group for a view and enables them range of faith groups to talk about to feed in any concerns they have Healthwatch and explore how we can themselves about services. work more closely together. A good example of how this works would We also regularly have a stand in the foyer be STAND who support people with of the hospital to talk to patients about disability. They regularly feed their experiences informally and to information to us about how difficult it is promote our role. for patients accessing hospital services Our work with young people has been when parking is poor and there is little particularly successful this year. We acknowledgement of the additional time it recognised that for young people to takes to park, pay,enter buildings, access engage they need to feel empowered by clinics and services. We can collate this the process. add our own evidence and work with them to raise the issue and have changes made. We regularly speak to students at Stoke- on-Trent Sixth Form College and a number We ensure that we ask to attend events of them from the Health and Care course organised by other organisations, either to volunteer with us and supported our GP have a presence via a stand, or, ideally, to Access and A&E survey by talking to patients waiting to be seen. We have just

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been informed that Healthwatch has been emotional wellbeing and mental health included as a curriculum subject on the provision in the City. We look forward college Social Care course and we go into to regular engagement with the group the college for an afternoon to work with as we begin to deliver the strategy.” students and recruit them to volunteer with us if they are interested. Paula Wilman, Senior Commissioning At a number of events such as the Youth Officer, Life Course Commissioning Hustings, we listened to some very Team, Peoples Directorate, Stoke-on- eloquent young people telling us their Trent City Council. experiences of accessing mental health services and their concerns around waiting Our close links with Healthwatch England times for both diagnosis and then again, then supported us in being aware of a for treatment and access to therapies. As planned debate on CAMHS which was a result of this we invited them to get being held in Westminster. On the advice involved in commenting on the Childrens of Healthwatch England we circulated the and Young Persons Emotional Wellbeing feedback from young peope to all our Strategy. A focused workshop was local MP’s and were very pleased indeed arranged and twitter and facebook when Rob Flello MP quoted their work in promotion encouraged discussion and his Commons response to the debate. awareness raising through social media. The timing of the event was negotiated carefully, the event was well structured to “Our local MP Rob Flello quoted young enable maximum input from them and the people from Stoke-on-Trent in his outcome was very positive indeed with comments as part of the CAMHS young people contributing in a very Debate in Westminster” animated and engaged way to inform the strategy. The commissioner was We have regular presence in the foyer of particularly impressed and Healthwatch the Royal Stoke Hospital where we was pleased to note that the suggestions encourage patients and families to share that came from the groups were used experience with us throughout the final version of the strategy. We also attend hospital and community Trusts patient council or patient involvement committees and hear what is “Healthwatch was able to bring being said by them. together a group of young people Our Twitter and Facebook presence is whose experiences of mental health growing and now involves some regular services in the City provided important dialogues with patients and the wider insight into the draft priorities we had public over services, consultation developed following on-going opportunities and views. More and more consultation with a range of information is being pushed to a bigger stakeholders including young people. audience through shares and likes and Their suggestions and comments retweets. We have also increased helped us to refine our priorities participation amongst individuals who further and endorsed the direction of want to engage, not only the organisations travel for children and young people’s who want to collaborate. There is a place

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for both, but ensuring that the public have wider footprint than the city alone. Our the bigger voice is important to us. Partnership Trust offer services across Stoke and Staffordshire and further afield With a focus on Frail Elderly services in as well. As a major trauma centre, Royal Stoke-on-Trent’s health economy, through Stoke Hospital services a much wider the continuing development of the New population across , and Model of Care (Step Up/StepDown) beyond. This means that patients may be Healthwatch Stoke has been particularly may be accessing acute and elective keen to draw on the views of older services as well as out patient care but people. The Discharge Pathways work and live outside the boundaries of the city. To the Parkinsons work meant that we support this Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent targeted older people many of whom were works increasingly closely with over 65 years of age to seek their views. Healthwatch Staffordshire and also has In particular we have worked closely with good communication links with local large cohorts of older peopleincluding Healthwatch in Shropshire, Cheshire and those over 65 years of age, through the Telford and Wrekin. We also maintain EngAGE Forum (a project of Age UK North communications with the Community Staffs), which we attend regularly to Health Trusts in Wales. This enables us to promote Healthwatch and hear what easily signpost patients to their local people have to say. Reports and Healthwatch, but also enables us to anecdotal feedback from them is shared compare and contrast quality of service with us and we have ensured that reports provision which may impact on each produced by EngAGE have also been fed others cohort of patients. into the JSNA (Joint Strategic Needs Because of the natural flow of patients Assessment) for the City. across the border we have volunteers who We have also appreciated the good have expressed a preference to work with relationships that we have developed with our local Healthwatch in the city rather disability groups such as STAND and than in the Healthwatch local to them. Deaflinks which have supported raising This may be because they are registered concerns about issues of particular with a GP within the city, or feel that the relevance to them. In particular the other services they access are more challenges around adequate and well sited relevantly supported through this parking for disabled and less mobile Healthwatch. patients attending hospital which we have Stoke-on-Trent is one of the most continually flagged with the hospital deprived cities in England and was ranked Trust. We have also added our voice to the 16th most deprived local authority that of STAND over concerns around (out of 326) in England (based on the 2010 disabled access to public buildings where Indices of Deprivation). There are a PIP (Personal Independence Payment) number of areas locally that are among Assessments have been carried out. the top 5% most deprived in the whole of Stoke-on-Trent is often described as the England. These include areas around the hole in the doughnut of Staffordshire. We wards of Tunstall, Central, also have our major acute hospital sitting Moorcroft, Etruria and Hanley (located in in the city boundaries but servicing the the north and west of the city), Abbey county of Staffordshire. Mental Health Hulton and Townsend, and Services are also provided across a much

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Ubberley (in the east) and Meir North and emotive nature of the proposals for Meir South (in the south east). change has led to some local friction and challenge. Healthwatch takes a very clear Within Stoke-on-Trent, nearly 131,000 position in which we cannot get involved people (52.4%) were living among areas of in the political aspects of the merits, or the city ranked among the top 20% most otherwise, of private or NHS providers deprived in the whole of England, which leading the programme. All that we can means the majority of the population are do is try to ensure that the Programme likely to be living in areas of the city leads provide adequate opportunity for considered to be among the most public engagement and debate on deprived. In contrast, there were 11,200 whatever proposal is put forward for people (4.5%) living in areas of the city delivering an improved service for Cancer ranked among the top 20% most affluent and End of Life patients. We have a very in the whole of England1. positive relationship with the Programme Health and social vulnerabilities are Leads and meet regularly with them. Our significant and we face challenges in role is to enable challenge and dialogue moving to a more positive position. and ensure that the views of patients and However, the local authority and the CCG service users are considered carefully as are working ever more closely to address part of any decision over a service design these challenges through a more and delivery. We will continue to work integrated health economy and a more together with Healthwatch Staffordshire cohesive approach to other key to enable this to take place across the influencers such as housing, education and whole health economy. employment and skills. Recognition that health literacy levels are very low in Stoke with an average reading In 2013, 2,469 people died from all age of 7 years for the population focuses causes in Stoke-on-Trent. The three the mind on how to communicate with the main causes of death were cancer public over health matters. Healthwatch (29.1%), circulatory disease (22.9%) Stoke-on-Trent has been involved in a and respiratory disease (17.7%). These series of Health Literacy Events to support three conditions accounted for 69.7% awareness of the challenges this brings. of all deaths2. In particular Healthwatch is concerned to influence decision makers away from an assumption that health literacy is only A focus on the merits of significant change about improving reading ages and ensuring to care services for Cancer Pathways as that patient focused literature is easier to part of the Transforming Cancer & End of understand. This plays a part but the Life Programmes has been a very topical underlying themes must be about issue for Healthwatch Stoke during the understanding what motivates vulnerable year. We were asked to give evidence to individuals who may face health a Health Select Committee last autumn challenges and significant social and with Healthwatch Staffordshire. The economic challenges on a daily basis. In these circumstances we must understand what motivates changes in diet, lifestyle, 1 Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment-Stoke- 2015 childcare, attitudes to education and so 2 Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment – Stoke – on. In short, change must be enabled but 2015

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from the position of the priorities of the and we are currently working with a small individual and must therefore be person task and finish group from the deaf centred. community and a local Vountary & Community organisation to explore what Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent recognises specific pieces of work we should that there are many vulnerable groups prioritise to improve the awareness and across the city and that many of these support deaf and hard of hearing patients struggle to have a voice. It is not realistic and service users experience. to suggest that we could provide a voice for all these groups in such a short period of time, but we have worked hard to “Its so good to know that Healthwatch enable the voice frail elderly, those with is going to work with us to get our long term conditions, carers, young voice heard, this sort of thing doesn’t people with mental health challenges and happen to us” Member of the deaf those with diabilities. community. We are also proud of the progress we have made through relationships with other Enter & View organisations who work very closely with It has taken a while for Healthwatch specific vulnerable groups. Developing Stoke-on-Trent to commence Enter and these relationships has meant that we are View Visits. This statutory function is a able to ask them to invite people to speak very important one and is one which we to us, or ask us to attend events they are needed to feel wholly confident to deliver holding to speak to their cohort. well. There is general recognition that the voice We have now trained a number of of carers is not easily heard and volunteers and delivered our first 3 visits Healthwatch Stoke has been pleased to during this year. work closely with North Staffs Carers Association on a number of occasions to As with all our work, the decision to promote the needs of carers; enable them undertake an Enter and View has to be to be involved in consultation over issues clearly defined and agreed by our Board of relevance to them as carers; promote and our process for enabling this to the information sessions on the impact of happen requires us to follow a process. the Care Act; attend social sessions to The Enter and Views we have conducted hear the views of carers and understand are: the challenges that they face. This 1. A new service being delivered by the relationship has supported a better acute Trust UHNM. They had informed Healthwatch able to consider commissioned a ward at Harplands carers views as part of many pieces of Hospital which delivers mental health work. services. The intention was to support Healthwatch has also been able to respond earlier discharge from acute wards of to specific needs from seldom heard frail elderly patients with dementia groups. An example of this is the deaf and implement a re-ablement community who attended a Care Act programme to support them in Briefing we held. It became apparent that returning to independent living or their needs were not being wholly met supported living. Some concerns about across a whole range of health services the physical environment had been

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flagged with Healthwatch and it was tables. Distribution of the final report has decided to conduct an Enter and View been across the local authority, visit to: commissioners, safeguarding team and it a) explore the environimnet, has been published on our website. b) talk to patients about their experience of the unit, 3. The third visit was undertaken to a c) speak to family members and unit on the same site as the previous carers as well to establish their one but managed by a separate view of the service. provider. Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in January had rated The visit was a very positive one indeed. it as requiring improvement under the It was conducted as an announced visit to Safe and Effective criteria. The stated be conducted within a stated timeframe purpose for the visit was: of one week, but the actual time and date a) to check the environment of the was unknown to the provider. Wedgewood Unit as to it’s A number of small recommendations were suitability for providing the levels made based on observations of the of care required; representatives and these have been b) to observe working practices and addressed by the provider. The report standard of care provided the was circulated to all interested parties at establishment; the Acute Hospital, the Mental Health c) to support our contribution Trust, commissioners at Stoke and North towards the ‘Step up Step Down - Staffss CCG’s and it was shared with the New Model of Care’ consultation local authority. currently being undertaken by the A summary of the report can be viewed on Stoke-on-Trent & North Staffs the Healthwatch website. Clinical Commissioning Group. 2. The second visit was a nursing home The report for this in in the process of with 3 separate units including support being signed off. of dementia patients. Some general Our Authorised representatives are: concerns had been raised with  John Gould Healthwatch by the public which the  Jean Mayer representatives wished to look at. The agreed reasons for the unannounced  Barbara Mawby visit were:  Paul Harper a) To check the environment for its  Abi May suitability for providing the levels  Stewart Barker of care required; b) To observe working practises and  Lynne Bradley standards of care provided across  Hilda Johnson the establishment;  Barry Dolton The report made a number of  Val Lewis (staff) recommendations for improvement but  Rebecca Elliott (staff) overall was very positive and well  Dave Rushton (staff) received. Some amendments have already  Paul Astley (staff) been made to signage and access to dining

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Providing information and signposting for people who use health and social care services

Helping people get what they potential re-tweet reach of 605,000 in the need from local health and social year to March our messages can be seen to care services be delivered. Our website traffic has grown also over the last year with over At Healthwatch Stoke we understand that 17,000 visits. the health and care marketplace can be difficult to navigate. We find that one of The website is intended to be a good our key areas of work is helping people to source of news and information for the find what they need, otherwise known as public and is regularly populated to be signposting. Also, people need access to sure that Healthwatch Stoke is the go-to good quality information so they can make web destination for health and care news informed decisions. in the city.  In the financial year 2014-15 we We have made a decision to refresh our supported 89 individuals web presence and install the Informatics and Sentiment Analysis system which These interactions can be very short, enables the public to post comments and simple and able to be addressed in a quick score individual services. This will go live telephone call, or sometimes develop into in late June and we think it will support an ongoing case with many interactions providers and commissioners as well in over a period of time. seeing the local picture. We will produce monthly reports for providers and share “Thank you so much for all your these with commissioners so that patient time and effort in getting this opinion is part of the consideration when quality and service design are discussed. resolved” Speaking of news, our monthly newsletter Service User is well respected locally as a reliable source of information and is distributed to As well as this, our service directory has over 1000 individuals, a quarter of these been distributed across Stoke-on-Trent to being professionals. We are aware that GP surgeries, pharmacies, care homes and the newsletter is then distributed again by more. This has been found useful by the many of the individuals who also represent general public and professionals alike with organisations or support groups, but it is all 12,000 copies distributed and shelves difficult to estimate the final reach. This emptied at the Healthwatch office. is a good example of how we inform people directly, but also help others Our web presence is growing too. We promote or improve their own service. work hard on social media and with a

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It is however, when people contact the them to hand it out to members of the office directly that staff get to witness the public who want to share a story. real value of signposting and information There are numerous examples that sharing. There has been a variety of illustrate our information and signposting. queries over the last twelve months. We were contact by a carer who felt They can vary from simple requests for completely overwhelmed by his caring the name of a commissioner or advice on responsibilities for his wife who had who to contact for care support, to more dementia. He was signposted to North complicated questions around rights, Staffs Carers for advice on how to manage understanding what a patient is entitled his financial affairs as his wife’s legal to see in terms of patient records and how guardian, as well as accessing some social to go about actioning this. activities and sharing his experiences with The range of questions and queries are others who understood how he was significant and we have established a very feeling. positive relationship with Powher who We were contacted by a patient who have the local contract to provide wanted to see her GP records and needed advocacy support. advice on how this could be achieved after We promote their monthly open sessions a negative response to her initial request. in the city and we meet with the team The intervention by Healthwatch resulted leader on a bi-monthly basis to share in the CCG re-issuing guidance to all GP’s intelligence and explore how and what on how to respond appropriately to type of advocacy cases they are receiving. requests for information from patients. This helps us to stay informed and enables We were contacted by a voluntary us to monitor the number of people who organisation that had contracted with the have taken up the offer from referral. local CCG to deliver interpreting services We are continually struck by the number for deaf patients, but had been unable to of people who wish to tell us their establish who was running the new experience of a health or care service who contract within NHS England. This left do not wish to complain. This willingness deaf people at risk of having no signers to to share stories which have had a huge support them at medical appointments. impact on their lives but no wish to take Healthwatch’s intervention enabled this to up a formal complaint process is a real be sorted out swiftly after a three month concern. However it has led to us using a hiatus. new strap line when we promote our service which is

“If you don’t want to complain but you want someone to know – tell Healthwatch”

We have produced small wallet sized cards with this message and our contact details and this is distributed across our network of Healthwatch Messengers to enable

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Influencing decision makers with evidence from local people

Producing reports and Our Discharge Pathways Project has been very successful in seeking views of older recommendations to effect change people on how they experience discharge During the year we have produced a from hospital and the interim report, number of reports including: (completed early to enable it to feed into  Frail Elderly Discharge Pathways the consultation on the New Model of Report Care) has been well received across providers and commissioners and is  Parkinson's provision in Stoke-on-Trent informing the development of the model.

 Access to Mental Health Services Report Click here to download report

It has been particularly important in  Ward 4 Enter and View (Shared Care highlighting the different ways that older Scheme Frail Elderly living with dementia) people respond to discharge, their understanding of the information and their  Formal Report responding to the CYP ability to grasp it and take control of their Emotional Health and Wellbeing discharge. The recommendations have Strategy Consultation been considered and are referenced across many different arenas locally and

are also being referenced in the West  Formal Report responding to the consultation on the implementation of Midlands Quality Review Service (WMRQS) the Care Act – Quality Review for the Care of Frail Older People.  Formal Report responding to the consultation on the proposed service cuts to Supporting People funding “Our Discharge Pathways report is being referenced in the WMQRS Quality In all cases the views of the patient and Review for the Care of Frail Older services user have been sought to inform People” the content of the reports and their voice has been central to those reports. A concern raised initially by a health care We are aware that the Discharge professional led to Healthwatch Stoke-on- Pathways, Parkinsons and Children and Trent carrying out a piece of work, Young People’s Emotional Health and targeted primarily at frail older people Wellbeing reports in particular have influencd change and supported more who suffered from Parkinsons. 250 patient focused decisions. questionnaires were distributed and 120

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  18 Influencing decision makers with evidence from local people were returned. It was clear that there diagnosis and better management through was a growing dissatisfaction about access GP led services and might further enhance to timely advice and medication reviews patient experience. in the community setting, to support best possible quality of life for Parkinsons “56% of those with advanced patients. Working in tandem with: Parkinson’s responded that their GP  Neurological Alliance; didn’t seem confident to offer advice  Radis Care; regarding the condition”3  Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Partnership Trust; Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent tries to  Parkinson’s UK; consider all aspects of its work  Stoke-on-Trent CCG; strategically as well as operationally.  Staffordshire Housing It has therefore been very appropriate to a survey was conducted which revealed use examples such as our Parkinsons and some significant patient concerns with the Discharge Pathways work to remind service clinicians and commissioners of the patients’ experiences which are central to Click here to read the report in full any integration programme working well. With the New Model of Care and the Outcomes, following the publication of the Better Care Fund working in tandem to report, have been gratifying to date. The keep people well at home, avoid CCG Commissioner with responsibility for unnecessary admission and support earlier long term conditions such as Parkinson’s discharge from hospital, Healthwatch has has met with the key partners and supported improved patient voice in the Healthwatch and discussed the report. process. This was achieved through strong The report has been tabled at the challenge to the CCG over the efficacy Neurology Network Meeting and, following and timeliness of their consultation this meeting, has resulted in a tentative process. It led to a request to commitment to increase the number of Healthwatch to help their comms team Parkinsons’s nurses in the community. produce more patient friendly, easy read summaries that informed patients about the New Model of Care. It also “It was helpful for clinicians to hear significantly improved the content and what Parkinsons patients were presentation styles used at consultation experiencing and to understand the events. Enabling this improved patient level of impact of poor community contribution can only lead to service provision on patient health” improvements in overall health economy. Observation of Healthwatch staff The work continues. member at the meeting Putting local people at the heart of improving services However, Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent is also pushing for consideration of mechanisms to place more expertise around Parkinson’s out into general practice. This would support earlier 33 Parkinsons Report – Healthwatch Stoke-on- Trent 2015

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  19 Influencing decision makers with evidence from local people

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent listens very following health and social care services carefully to the local population to guide for example: its work and set its priorities.  Direct feedback to Quality Leads in the It is a clear policy for all our staff and CCG and NHS England on issues raised volunteers to consider how they introduce by patients affecting the quality of the patient voice into every arena in services eg Signing/Interpreting which we work. Being part of a small services for medical appts for the deaf team ensures that all staff are “front line” community; at some point during the working day.  Patient groups have worked closely This means speaking directly to patients, with Healthwatch Stoke to feed carers and service users about their information back on the care.data experiences. Those “lived” experiences proposals and representatives have are the best possible examples to use attended national events on this topic when talking to commissioners, clinicians, to put forward local views managers or frontline staff.  Provision of patient representatives and collection of patient opinion in At a strategic level the Healthwatch consultation and strategic manager ensures that commissioners and development activities around Mental senior managers are reminded about the Health Strategy, Care Act, Carers patient or service user and how their Strategy, Dementia Strategy, Mental experience should be central to any Health Strategy,Supported Housing and quality, performance or service design Learning Disability Review discussions. Bringing that point of view to  As reported previously young people the meeting often focuses the minds of were involved in a significant piece of participants and changes the direction of work to provide comment on the conversations. Young Persons Emotional Wellbeing Our staff encourage volunteers to ensure Strategy that patient voice/local view is shared Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent works with when on working groups, promotional volunteers in a variety of roles and is stands, attending events, in growing its number and skillset of representative roles or in meetings with Representatives. We are providing managers or commissioners. support to enable them to truly represent The Annual Meeting of Healthwatch Stoke- at meetings rather than just attend. In on-Trent last year enabled the gathering the coming year this programme will be of views around shaping our specific extended further to increase our prioritie. These were considered by our representation and volunteer involvement Board along with the themes that had in enabling patient voice. emerged from other patient engagement In addition, our volunteers support staff events. Local priorities for service design by taking stands to events and also acting and implementation were agreed as our as Healthwatch Messengers in their local priorities for the year. They are detailed communities to promote what we do and in the About Us section at the beginning of to capture and feedback patient stories this report. which help to build our evidence base. In particular we have involved patients or Three of our Board members who are shared their views in the commissioning particularly interested in aspects of provision and management of the

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  20 Influencing decision makers with evidence from local people service delivery have attended local and The manager of our local Healthwatch is national events. Prior to each they have the nominated representative on the attended the office to meet with staff to Health and Wellbeing Board. receive detailed briefings about the topics The role on the Board is an important one to enable them to feel confident to as the membership is small and has only participate. recently been extended to include Examples of events attended would be provider representation (non-voting) from attendance at the Care.data events the Acute, Mental Health and Partnership organised regionally by NHS England, Trusts who provide the bulk of health attendance at CQC conferences, services and a significant percentag of participation in Care & Treatment Reviews community services across the city. (Winterbourne), Equality Delivery System The Healthwatch Manager uses her seat on (EDS) Training events at the Stoke CCG, the Board to try and seek assurance, on events around the Transforming Cancer behalf of the Board, that there is a and End of Life Programmes, transition commitment to integration and workshops for the Acute Trust when collaboration between health and care at moving services between sites. all levels in the city. She also challenges The Healthwatch Board receive summary any reports that come to the Board which reports from the representatives after do not appear to adequately reflect the these meetings. drive for collaboration between health and social care and tries to create Health and Wellbeing Board dialogue and debate to explore how this representative collaboration can be embedded at all levels of strategic implementation, “It is really important that the Health management and delivery of services. and Wellbeing Board have Healthwatch has been very proactive in Healthwatch as a member. They are challenging the inadequacies of the Joint able to bring vital intelligence on the Strategic Needs Assessent (JSNA) in terms experience and quality of service of access to contribute reports and data people have received, in a way that for the voluntary sector; promotion to the really helps the board debate and public of the importance of the JSNA in challenge itself to ensure its supporting the development of the strategies and priorities take account priorities for the Health and Wellbeing of what is happening day to day. Board; provision of information for the Healthwatch have a unique public in a form which makes it easy for perspective of championing service them to understand. There has been user and patient experience with significant progress in this although there board responsibilities for shaping and is still some way to go to make JSNA an implementing strategy.” open and easily accessible resource and Healthwatch hopes that this will continue. Diane Lea, Independent Chair of Stoke A Health and Wellbeing Board Health and Wellbeing Board Development Day is planned in early July and Healthwatch has been invited to contribute ideas for the content and

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  21 Influencing decision makers with evidence from local people format of the day. This has been received understanding the issues and concerns very positively. that are relevant to patient experience. It has been useful for us to have this link Working with others to improve on a number of occasions when talking to local services someone who understands the internal Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent has worked processes has reduced time delays and hard to develop a working relationship supported information sharing and with the CQC. We recognise the response effectively. Our membership of challenges faced by the CQC in the Quality Surveillance Group and implementing the changes they have had invitations to participate in Risk Summits over the last year. This has made it has been helpful to all parties to provide difficult to establish strong relationships patient experience input. as staff have moved around within the Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent has worked organisation. We now have a regular hard to create good relationships with a review meeting with key local CQC large number of voluntary organisations representatives which has helped and this who work with particular vulnerable allows for exchange of information and groups. Much of our work is enhanced by sharing of concerns. Our local link takes working collaboratively with them to seek messages and evidence back to the CQC. views of patients and service users and to We contributed a detailed summary of gather a wider pool of evidence to support concerns and issues to the CQC prior to our final reports and demonstrate that the recent CQC inspection of UHNM Royal they call on evidence from a variety of Stoke and actively promoted the Listening sources which supports validation. Event in the City for the CQC and We have undertaken a specific review of a attended the event too. service in the form of the Parkinsons We have not made specific review. This was a very collaborative recommendations to the Care Quality piece of work and brought together a Commission either directly or indirectly to number of organisations. undertake special reviews or The Mental Health Access report involved investigations. We have actively working with a number of voluntary groups contributed to any local inspections which who provided evidence and supported we knew were taking place and for which access to their client groups who provided we had evidence to be taken into a view on the services which helped to consideration. We support impending inform the report. inspections and we are now alerted to any We have also provided a number of intended inspections in a timely way. This patient stories in the form of case studies has taken a while to put in place but at for discussion with the Quality Lead at the time of writing is working much more Stoke CCG and these have been discussed effectively. on wider platforms within the CCG. Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent has a good In the course of our work this year we working relationship with the Local Area have issued two Freedom of Information Team at NHS England’s offices. Requests relating to our Discharge We attend regular Healthwatch Pathways project. We received the information sharing meetings with key information requested from Stoke-on- staff and this supports us and them in Trent and Staffordshire Partnership Trust

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  22 Influencing decision makers with evidence from local people

(SSOTP), but did not receive the information from UHNM (University Hospital of North Midlands) All our reports are loaded onto our website and are shared with the providers concerned but we also disseminate much more widely, targeting commissioners, providers, CEO’s and specific managers/team leaders whom we know have a particular interest in the subject matter. We do this via email with a link to the report and a brief summary of the detail.

We monitor the number of downloads of our reports and the recent Discharge Pathways report has been downloaded 115 times.

We have shared intelligence with Healthwatch England around a number of subjects. We were one of the local Healthwatch that escalated concerns to Healthwatch England asking that they get involved in the Care.data consultation. The proposals put out by NHS England did not, in our view, give a clear balanced view and did not provide patients with enough information to make an informed judgement. We believe that we played some part in the subsequent delaying of decisions over this to give more time for patients to be consulted.

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  23

Impact Stories

Case Study One Contributing to consultation on Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health of Children and Young People

How young people’s voice influenced a strategy

strategy would directly impact. A focus Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent group was organised in January 2015 (Healthwatch Stoke) was informed of the where local providers of young persons local consultation for the ‘Emotional mental health support were invited to Wellbeing and Mental Health of Children bring young people who accessed their and Young People from Birth to 18 years service to come along and engage in a session. Healthwatch Stoke also invited their network of young people to come and have their say. The evening was a complete success and was attended by fifteen young people all of whom had varying experiences of the mental health services locally. We planned a workshop that would look to engage the young people and enable 1 Young people discussing mental health them to make an informed comment Commissioning Strategy 2015-18’ in about the commissioning strategy. We December 2014 when the commissioner looked at the key priorities set out in the presented this during one of our subgroup strategy; we looked at their own meetings attended by Healthwatch priorities and asked them to tell us what volunteers where they explained how the their priorities are as young people living multi-faceted consultation exercise had in Stoke-on-Trent. All of the comments, been continuing over the last year. suggestions, ideas and discussions were Children & Adolescent Mental Health noted down and prepared to form the Services (CAMHS) is a priority for basis of Healthwatch Stoke official Healthwatch Stoke and we were keen to response to the Local Authority who was ensure that our input towards this local facilitating the consultation. The consultation counted given that the Commissioning Team have offered the national picture for CAMHS is one of grave following statement to demonstrate the concern. impact this piece of work has had:

Healthwatch Stoke wanted to hear the “Healthwatch was able to bring voice of the young person on whom this together a group of young people

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  24 Impact Stories whose experiences of mental health Healthwatch Stoke feels that this has services in the city provided helped to improve the experience of important insight into the draft children and young people as they have priorities we had developed following been able to directly influence the on-going consultation with a range of commissioning intentions for the mental stakeholders including young people. health services that the children and young people use. We can see that the Their suggestions and comments support offered to Rob Flello MP in taking helped us to refine our priorities part in the parliamentary debate has further and endorsed the direction of raised the important issue of bettering travel for children and young people’s the CAMHS from a local and national emotional wellbeing and mental standpoint, thus making a difference health provision in the city. We look across the system. forward to regular engagement with Healthwatch Stoke celebrated this the group as we begin to deliver the success by informing our volunteer strategy.” network and the young people that took part in the focus group of the attention Paula Wilman, Senior Commissioning and influence their work had locally and Officer, Life Course Commissioning nationally. Healthwatch Stoke will Team, Peoples Directorate, Stoke-on- continue to have CAMHS as a priority and Trent City Council. will strive to ensure that the children and young people have their say on their Following this Healthwatch Stoke was services across Stoke-on-Trent. made aware, by Healthwatch England, of an impending Parliamentary debate in the Healthwatch Stoke also welcomes the House of Commons specifically looking at stated intention of the commissioner to CAMHS and the ongoing work around the continue to involve the young people as Task Force Report. Healthwatch Stoke the strategy is implemented. contacted the three local MPs to For us here in Stoke this is a great ascertain if they had any intentions to example of collaboration, co-operation attend the debate. Rob Flello MP and enablement. We are also very responded to confirm that he was pleased that the role of Healthwatch intending to take part in the debate. England in alerting us to national debates Healthwatch Stoke furnished Rob Flello and policy assisted in wider promotion of MP with a number of supporting a local issue. documents. We also highlighted a number of areas of concern that young people were telling us about. The debate in the House of Commons took place on Tuesday 3rd March 2015 and Rob Flello MP in Stoke- on-Trent took part, referencing Healthwatch Stoke and the voice of the young people in Stoke-on-Trent. Healthwatch England provided a summary of the debate which was circulated across the Local Healthwatch network.

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  25 Impact Stories

Case Study Two Patient experience with their discharge from Hospital

Patient Experience of Discharge and the Impact on the Integration Programme

local KPMG (External consultancy) review. It seemed clear that the group to be most impacted by these changes would be the frail elderly because these patients form the biggest proportion of those having unplanned admissions to hospital and discharge is more likely to be complicated by their characteristics and ability (or not) to negotiate homecare needs, rehabilitation and medication. Our intelligence was telling us that patients were having a poor experience of this discharge pathway. Because this group is known to be more Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent feels vulnerable, it was decided that describing strongly that commissioning should be patient experiences, rather than a simple based upon evidence relevant to the local service evaluation, could help to inform context. One of our key roles is to and shape the next stage of the support the development of evidence and transformation and service design. A encourage a community of practice in service evaluation would not ask sharing key learning across the health questions like; what does it mean to be a economy. With this in mind, HW Stoke frail elderly health consumer? The report develops its work streams to inform the should describe barriers to personalised wider health economy and its direction of care in this group based upon their travel. experiences and encourage discussion about these issues. “We identified the most appropriate Who we engaged with cohort as frail elderly patients – this enabled us to consider the more Healthwatch Stoke makes no claims to be strategic implications for the report in expert on frail elderly care, so informing terms of supporting the the project led us to work with a range of transformation agenda with well organisations that support frail elderly informed recommendations” clients. Informal conversations were held with leaders of voluntary organisations to Currently, the local priority is cross- develop a contextual understanding. Two economy transformation, with a focus on practice managers were interviewed for reducing admissions, less time in hospital their views. We also have a positive and earlier discharge into community relationship with the Acute Trust - UHNM, based care - a key recommendation in a so we met with senior staff with responsibility for a specialist frail elderly

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  26 Impact Stories ward. It should be noted that the approach taken in the research design hospital was enthusiastic about and it became clear that there were Healthwatch doing work like this as it is potential outcomes beyond the original looking for opportunities for learning. scope. To maximise these outcomes the Also, we have a significant knowledge paper was: base in our volunteers and a steering  shared with the hospital who were group was set up to help coordinate the able to comment on the content project. and distribute to professionals It was important to understand who the internally frail elderly are from the beginning. This  promoted widely and has now means understanding their context to been downloaded from our inform the content of the questionnaire website 115 times by a wide and its design. A questionnaire suitable variety of stakeholders including for the target group was developed, using health & care professionals, accessible language, large print, use of academics, students and the colours and restricted length. This general public; it is contributing questionnaire focused upon experiences to the wider debate about how and asked respondents to grade simple evidence can be developed and statements such as “whilst in hospital, I used understood what was going to happen to me” or “I found it easy to talk to doctors  shared with Stoke CCG who are and nurses about my care”. monitoring the implementation of proposed changes and have 500 of these questionnaires were discussed our findings with the distributed to patients discharged from Trust at a CQRM meeting; the hospital using their database.  fed into the consultation for the We already had excellent relationships New Model of Care and the with voluntary sector organisations with Commissioning Support Unit who whom we work closely and these told us that it “affected the relationships have been further enhanced manner of engagement and the by the co-operative approach we took language used” in the and the recommendations in the report consultation. Our relationship that firmly place patient voice at the here is ongoing; centre of any work that we do.  contributed towards the Using the evidence development of new draft standards for elderly care by WMQRS; The Commissioning Support Unit told us that our report “affected the  contributed to the Health Literacy manner of engagement and the programme in the city of which language usedin the consultation” Healthwatch is a valued member,  discussed at a Quality Surveillance As stated above, a key role is to help Group meeting; facilitate a community of practice and  shared with QSG (Quality encourage learning. The learning in this Surveillance Group NHS England) report varied due to the bottom-up

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  27 Impact Stories

membership and referred to by carer’s economy in the city, thus the CCG Quality lead; validating our approach in promoting bottom-up, evidence  shared with the local media (print driven practice. This and radio); acknowledgement of our thinking What has been our impact? can only improve outcomes for service-users.  We feel that our goal of encouraging a community of practice was met and exceeded Awareness raising and focus and will contribute to patient experience being central to  A detailed article in the local service design but results will only (Sentinel) newspaper about the show in future service design findings of the report;  The staff in the Unit responded  We have been invited to discuss very positively to the report and the findings on BBC Radio Stoke in listed a range of changes that they two separate interviews. wished to make as a result of the  We have a newsletter with a recommendations. This is being readership approaching 1000 who monitored by the CCG but too have all been informed early to confirm outcome  The report on our website has  This has built learning about the been downloaded over 100 times need for context-specific communication through the Health  The evidence is being referenced Literacy program which will better in the WMQRS Quality Review for inform their service in the future the Care of Frail Older People  Has led to Healthwatch Stoke being invited to evaluate the

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  28

Our plans for 2015/16

Opportunities and challenges for the New Model of Care Step Up/Step Down– future measuring patient transition and ongoing monitoring of service for improved patient Our priorities have been agreed through pathway and high quality community listening to the public at various events intervention formally and informally throughout the Care Act Implementation – patient and year and by interrogating our Customer public awareness and understanding Relationship Management (CRM) system to identify emerging themes that suggest JSNA Development of local data there may be a need for further work. We contributions – continued role in also listen carefully to commissioners and challenging JSNA evidence collection and sit in strategic meetings as well as being the way it informs Health and Wellbeing informed by national policy and strategy. Board work The end result is a series of high level CAMHS and Mental Health service access priorities that we have put together with and transition issues – continued our Board’s endorsement to focus on in monitoring and challenge of progress the coming year. against local priorities However, the health and care economy is Royal Stoke transition – monitoring and always responsive to those unplanned feedback on patient experience and events which occur such as the A&E crisis involvement last year. It is therefore recognised by Managing the ongoing Enter & View the Board of Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent Programme - further recruitment and that some pieces of work will arise that training of representiatives are not part of the bigger plan, but it will be very necessary to respond. Our plans Promotion of the Dignity & Respect have an element of flexibility which will Charter – on behalf of Health and support that need to be responsive. Wellbeing Board. Continued volunteer recruitment, Our strategic priorities induction, assignment, training and Key work areas will be: management Continuing Strategic Engagement and These key work areas will be underpinned increasing public awareness of local by responsive work that arises throughout Healthwatch the year and is considered to be important to patients and service users. The Board Collaborative working and information will prioritise appropriately to manage sharing and challenge workload effectively. Better Care Fund – monitoring the integration programme

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  29 Our governance and decision-making

Abi May - Abi’s personal Our governance experience of bereavement as a result of her daughter’s and decision- difficult journey through mental illness means she wants making to try to improve the way that both patients and carers voices are heard in Our Board relation to their care in mental health. Lloyd Cooke - Chair of Abi has taken a significant role in linking the Healthwatch with the CQC for Healthwatch Stoke Management Board, during their transition phase Lloyd brings John Sneddon has considerable contributed much to experience to his role from his Healthwatch Stoke-on- involvement with health and social care Trent during the year. across Stoke-on-Trent and as CEO of He will be known to Saltbox a charity supporting faith groups, many readers through his work with older people, ex-offenders, mental patient and public involvement. He is a health and substance misuse challenges previous Foundation Chair, non Exec Mike Dixon - a founding Board member of the Macmillan Cancer Board member of the Care project on Cancer and End of Life LINk. He is Chairman of Care—an area in which he was heavily the Community Health involved with Stoke-on-Trent LINk. Voice, a patient John’s understanding of the health involvement group, in the City and service and knowledge and resources is surrounds. Mike has been active for 10 invaluable years in the City's community Andrew Thompson - as infrastructure, including Meir Park Operations Director of Resident's Association. His activities and VAST andrew was associations will complement the work of instrumental in bringing Healthwatch the contract for Local Hilda Johnson - works Healthwatch to VAST which oversees the with North Staffs Users implementation of the Local Group (Mental Health Healthwatch. His seat on the charity) and is based at management board will ensure that Harplands hospital. Her Healthwatch is guided to fulfil its experience of mental health issues, her obligations under the contract work as a borough councillor and her Chris Thorley - through passion for equity of service for all brings his work with RNIB and a valuable skill set to the board other charities for the visually impaired across the region and his own

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  30 Our governance and decision-making experience of visual impairment, Chris through her work with Scope, Face2FAce, brings a passion for involving and Fleetkins CIC and Aiming Higher Together engaging the people affected by health CIC. She manages a team of 33 related decisions particularly those with parent/carer volunteer befrienders all of disabilities and other excluded groups. whom have children with a disability. Sharing the voices of families is very Louise Hudson - as the important to her. mother of a young adult with severe disability Barry Dolton - is a and complex health retired professional civil issues who passed away engineer with wide only this year, Louise has considerable experience of experience of both health and social care infrastructure projects services within both children’s and young both in the UK and adults services. She supports enablement overseas and was for 24 years an adviser of the voice of carers and disabled in what is now the Government’s children and young people. She works Department for International for Scope Face2Face and brings a wealth Development (DFID). He has an intense of experience of the challenges for interest in trying to both improve parents of children with additional services and reduce costs at the UHNM needs. and sees the wholesale re-vamping of health service targets as a priority. He Lynne Bradley -worked believes many of the skills acquired as a radiographer in the during his former career equip him well NHS and has a good to contribute to the achievement of understanding of the these objectives. needs of the patient from a service provider perspective. She John Farrar - has is involved with the Multiple Sclerosis worked as a Finance Society and has volunteered with the Manager in the Eczema Society. She has a passion for Voluntary Sector in improving patient experience and North Staffs since 1998 enabling patient voice and her for Potteries Housing Association (now experience as a carer of a family Brighter Futures) and YMCA North member following a severe stroke brings Staffs, working for some of the most a very personal perspective to her view. vulnerable members of our community. He sits on the wider welfare reform Denise Deakin- is a mum group and is treasurer of Staffordshire of two teenage boys and Credit Union. This gives him an lives in Stoke. She has understanding of both people’s needs experience of working and the need to maximise value for with families in Stoke-on- money for the users of health services. Trent. She delivers family activities in John believes passionately that all local children Centres and sports venues members of our community should have and many varied parent carer groups, the right and access to free high quality including a successful Dad/Male carer healthcare. group and an ADHD Support Group

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  31 Our governance and decision-making

This brings all the key volunteers together

once a month to be informed by staff, contribute their own views and question How we involve lay people and and challenge providers and volunteers commissioners. The meeting then agrees the priority workstreams they wish to Healthwatch work is driven by the views pursue. The groups are then invited to of lay people in the form of our Board volunteer to work in small activity groups members who volunteer for their role. on specific workstreams and develop the The work of the organisation is always brief and oversee the piece of work. informed by the evidence gathered from the public, directly and indirectly. Most To support our volunteers we have importantly it has been directed and developed Terms of Reference and recommended by our Subgroups which are guidance and our Volunteer Handbook wholly populated by patients and service supports them in understanding what they users. can expect from Healthwatch and what Healthwatch expects from them. This also The sub-groups have met monthly, around sets out guidance around confidentiality, specific health themes, Mental Health, code of conduct, sample templates for Secondary Care, Primary Care and Social reporting back information and outcomes Care, with a more informal arrangement from meetings and events. to gather views from children and young people around their health and care Some examples of decisions made by our needs. volunteers would include identifying and supporting the Enter and View visits, These groups have brought evidence to working with staff to develop the Mental the meetings, received reports and Health Access project and contributing to information from Healthwatch staff and the development of the Discharge decided on pieces of work which have Pathways project. then been drawn up into project briefs and submitted to the Board for Volunteers have also been involved in consideration. Staff support the meetings shaping surveys and questionnaires used but they are chaired by patient during the year and are very active in representatives. suggesting themes for public engagement to support increased knowledge of the There has been some concern that the current public/patient concerns around subgroups may not have been as widely health and care. representative as we would wish, so, with the agreement of the Board 2015 sees the Our Board receives and signs off drafts of beginning of a pilot scheme. Prior to this reports that have been produced so that a detailed consultation was held with all we can assure ourselves that we have the sub-groups inviting them to identify sufficient approval for published work. what was positive and not so positive about the current model. These very honest responses then informed the design of the new model which is being piloted.

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  32

Financial information

INCOME £

Funding received from local authority to deliver local 201,000* Healthwatch statutory activities

Additional income 691

Total income 201,691

EXPENDITURE

Office costs 41,542

Staffing costs 126,811

Direct delivery costs 68,105

Total expenditure 236,458

Balance brought forward 57,140

NB* Funding awarded was £216,000 for year April 2014 – March 2015 – however an underspend of £15,000 from the year 2013/14 was deducted from the total paid by the Local Authority by mutual agreement.

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  33

Contact us

Get in touch Address: Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent, The Centre Hope Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5DD

Phone number:01782 683080 Email:[email protected] Website: www.healthwatchstoke.co.uk

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent will be making this annual report publicly available by 30th June 2015 by publishing it on our website and circulating it to Healthwatch England, CQC, NHS England, Clinical Commissioning Group/s, Overview and Scrutiny Committee/s and our local authority. We confirm that we are using the Healthwatch Trademark (which covers the logo and Healthwatch brand) when undertaking work on our statutory activities as covered by the licence agreement. If you require this report in an alternative format please contact us at the address above.

© Copyright ( Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent 2015)

Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent  34